Writing Prizes

Every Spring semester, the English department accepts submissions for the annual Queens College Writing Prizes. Prizes are awarded at a ceremony honoring recipients.

Submissions are now open for the Spring 2023 Prizes!

All currently matriculated QC undergrads, as well as those undergrads who finished in December 2022, are eligible for prizes awarded in Fiction, Nonfiction, Drama, Poetry; and in work in any genre, including multimodal work, done in English 109, 110, and 130. Students may submit work in any or all categories; work done as a class assignment is eligible. The Composition Prizes are limited to students whose work for English 109, 110, or 130 was done in either Fall 2022 or Spring 2023.

If you are submitting a multimodal entry from a writing course, please consult your professor and/ or the Writing Prizes Chair (annmarie.drury@qc.cuny.edu) with any questions you may have about formatting.

Submissions are due by email (qcwritingprizes@gmail.com) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, 31 March.  Prize-winners will be contacted by 21 April. The Writing Prizes Ceremony will take place on May 10. Please contact Annmarie Drury at annmarie.drury@qc.cuny.edu with any questions.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. Page limits. For Nonfiction and Fiction, 20 pages; for Poetry, 10 pages; for Drama, two one-act plays or one full-length play.
2. References. All entries that incorporate research or textual analysis must include citations and a works cited list (or bibliography) according to a standard format (such as MLA or Chicago style). Students unsure of those guidelines may consult the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
3. Pseudonyms. To ensure fairness in judging, all entries must be submitted under a pseudonym. Remove your actual name everywhere it may appear in the document containing your work, including on page headers.
4. How to submit. Students may submit work in any or all categories. All entries must be submitted via email to qcwritingprizes@gmail.com, with your email addressed to the Writing Prizes Committee.  Indicate your name and your class standing in the body of your email. Please indicate for what prize you are submitting in the subject line of your email. For example, if you are submitting poetry, fiction, drama, creative nonfiction, or general nonfiction, please say so in the subject line of your email: “fiction prize submission” or “poetry prize submission,” and so on. If you are submitting work for a specific nonfiction prize (The David B. Feinberg Prize, The Clinton Oliver Prize, etc.), please indicate so in the subject line of your email.
5. What to include. Your emailed submission should include two separate attachments:
   • A cover sheet with your actual name, your pseudonym, your personal information, and the title of your submission;
   • The work you are submitting, with your pseudonym only.

Please format your attachments as either Word documents (.doc or .docx) or pdfs. Google docs will not be accepted. Use your pseudonym to name your cover sheet (Example: Zion.doc). Use your pseudonym and your genre to name your work document: Pseudonym dot Genre of Submission (Example: Zion.Fiction.doc). Each submission should be a separate email. Therefore, if you are submitting in three genres, you will send three separate emails. The cover sheet should include the following information:

• Pseudonym, Real Name, and Student ID#
• Genre of your submission, Specific nonfiction category (if necessary)
• Address, Phone Number, Email Address

Please note again: submitted work must include a pseudonym in place of the student’s real name.